Public Baths disappeared long time ago here in Germany. They where called "Volksbad" and provided showers or bathtubs to people who had no bath at home. Cities tried to keep everyone healthy by providing public baths. Nowadays with baths beeing standart in every appartment they are simply not needed any more. Might be similar in Japan. However its always sad to see tradition fading away.
I watched a gorgeous movie called "Yudo: The Way of the Bath" at a Japanese film festival recently. Massive recommendation. It's a heartwarming family film that touches on the fading public bath scene as well.
More praise for “Yudo: The Way of the Bath”, saw it last Saturday and it was brilliant. It put into words and emotions the way I felt using the baths/onsen at several hotels in Japan. Next time I hope to hope to explore Sento. Also nothing beets a cold beer or milk from a glass bottle after a bath
about the alphabetical order question - I asked my Japanese husband and he says that it’s organized by vowel. However, it’s organized by last name, whereas in the US things are organized by first name. From what I understand, Bob Dylan would be organized under “de” character, so you would go to “e” character/vowel section, then “de”. I hadn’t ever thought of this but it will definitely be helpful next time I’m shopping for books and records in Japan!
Not even that, they overwhelmingly use the gojuuon order. vowel-only AEIOU first, then the consonant-vowel pairs for K/G, S/Z, T/D, N, H/B/P, M, Y, R, W. So Dylan would be on the fourth series ie. T/D. Also, they represent the consonant-vowel series by the unvoiced -a kana, so Dylan would be under Ta/た.
@@skunkwerkz777 well its more like how most of the east asian languages are more tonal. So organizing things according to how they sound and grouping similar sounding things will be more normal to them vs how the west use an relatively simple alphabet to organize things. The same thing applies to Chinese organization.
Had the full public bath experience in 2007, showing my junk in an onsen for locals to see was weird for about 10 minutes then realsing no one cares is kind of liberating in a very strange way.
I went to one in 2017 and 2018 near Asakusa, and it never bother me to be naked around... I just wanted to experience what is like to be a Japanese, like did also when I went to temples and even went to the top of mount Fuji (one thing is sure: IT WAS COLD UP THERE!!!🥶🥶🥶🥶)
21:00 I found the secret to getting up early, is going to bed early. Sometimes that takes a little getting used to in itself. But usually, that’s the best way to train your body to get up early. I haven’t used an alarm clock in years. And I usually get up anywhere between 5 o’clock and 630. Depending on the time of the year honestly, I’m almost set my body to the sunrise or right before it. Good luck. honestly, the early morning hours I cherish so much, because the world is so quiet it’s the best time, I don’t get too productive until after eight or 9 o’clock. But I like to get up and like you said that’s the time to meditate. Maybe do some stretching. Drink coffee, Take your walk. I like to ride my bike at the beach some days, I'm in Florida ,It’s kind of your time. Just don’t read Emails or anything stressful. That can wait till after 9 o’clock.
I remember going to a sento as a child visiting my grandmother. The house had no bath and a no flush toilet that grossed me out. 😂 She also had a water pump which was fascinating to me. Sentos was fun especially the cold milk we drank after the bath. All good memories as we all walked to the sento.
I remember buying a DVD with all of Chris Cunningham's work on it in the early 2000s... It had a short film called "Rubber Johnny" and I've never been more freaked out by a piece of media in my life.The music videos he did for Bjork are amazing,
My Japanese husband owned a sento when we first met until it shut down during covid. He was actually the head of the Aichi sento association for a while 😂 Now it just functions as a bath for the residents of one of his care homes, but it was reasonably popular before covid. Such a shame.
In New Zealand our hotsprings are disappearing too, sometimes due to volcanic activity, usually financial mismanagement. It's sad... there were some absolutely stunning ones in the past. Now I can only think of three main ones.
25:42 I'd like to think I do something relatively obscure here in Japan as I'm a Ferrari technician. You can see me at Suzuka, Fuji Speedway, etc on raceday.
It's a shame about the sento and onsen decline. I'd much rather visit a nice bath where the water's warm and (mostly) clean without ME having to do all the standing around waiting for the water to get warm, then the tub to fill, and then after the relaxing soak having to eventually drain and clean the tub. I think the real reason is the general problem with the world culture... everyone is too busy to pause for an hour from time to time. It's not that we're busy accomplishing things, but we've made everything around us into chores and jobs, and feel compelled to always be working on something with a progress bar.
The way that companies get away with selling 'Wagu' beef is that it doesn't have to be 💯 Wagu. If the bull is only half Wagu, they can still sell it as Wagu. It's unfortunate 🤔
It also doesn’t have to be raised in Japan. You can have cows with wagyu genetics in Australia or US. The marbling results are completely different from a Miyazaki.
“Wagyu burger” is never full wagyu. There’re videos showing that wagyu beef doesn’t make good burger and you can just mince any meat with good amount of fat to get the same effect.
I regularly watch your podcast but have yet to make any comments in between anxiously awaiting your next Abroad in Japan video. But this podcast made me laugh a couple of times today. Your comments about the Aphex Twin, Come to Daddy music video are spot on! My younger brother and I have decided it's one of the most disturbing music videos ever made! And your comment about Wagyu beef is also dead on! And then there is the Bears. My wife and I have a summer house up in Nasu. I have to contend with Bears, Monkeys, and Asian giant hornets. My only defense is a baseball bat and harsh language... The other thing that got me laughing was your schedule, including the walking part! It is almost identical to my own! LOL anyways, guys, thanks for making me laugh today. I've also lived here for about ten years and unfortunately still can't speak Japanese!
I've been trying to find certain thin books at Mandarake before with middling success... seemed to be the standard order, gojuon or whatever it's called, but the tough part was to find the index from the kanji in the author's name (or rather, finding a book by an author whose artstyle I recognized and remembered the name of) and follow it to the author I wanted to find, mainly because they don't even put dividers anywhere... even worse when it's just ordered by original work, though, and you have a whole shelf to comb through for your artist of interest.
The most confusing thing is there's multiple sections with different sorting methods depending on the store. There is a new arrival unsorted section, original works divided by genres, popular doujin circles getting their own divider, and also divided by series the works are based on.
If only they'd get to the advertised subject instead of spending all that time doing the banter. It's probably one of the reasons why this channel only has about 20% of the subscribers of the old one. I want to learn about Japan, not David Beckham.
@@bobmetcalfe9640 most subscribers use a podcast app to listen to the podcast. As for the majority it has been a audio only podcast. So numbers are a bit harder to collect as they can use about 10.000 aps to do so. Also for me the banter is the appeal. As I have been following this podcast from the beginning. It has always been part of the show.
@@bobmetcalfe9640 If you want the advertised subject alone, just read it somewhere. Who the hell listens to podcasts but hates the banter of the hosts? It's basically the whole point.
@@MyVanir Because it's on the front page of UA-cam. "No, I've never wondered why the bath houses are closing. Let's find out..... Now that that segment is finished, I no longer care"
Has anyone else noticed the reflection of a person walking in the glass in the background from 21:24 to 21:30? I like to think it is a ghost or something even scarier, like Ryotaro.
#faxmachine Hi Cleansed Chris and Pristine Pete, when I was younger I went to Japan on a 6 week school exchange. I was staying in a home stay in Kyoto not far from the train station. At the time i was really into running (as I am sure you are too) and thought it would be a good idea to run up to Nijo Castle and then on to the Imperial Palace to check them out. All up it should have taken me about 80 minutes but on my way back I got a bit lost. This was before smartphones and I had no map with me so asked an old man directions on how to get back to the train station as I knew how to get home from there. He sent me in the opposite direction and I ended up running over 2 hours! When i finally got home I told my host family (who didn't seem that worried i was gone for so long) and they said Japanese old men are notorious for playing pranks so it turns out I just got punked by an old man. Have you had any similar situations where you have been pranked by the elderly? Also on that run i saw a guy on a motorbike get t-boned at an intersection. The other car just drove off and everyone just looked at him while he wheeled his bike to the side of the road.
Wagyu in Japan comes from four breeds: Japanese Black, Japanese Brown, Japanese Polled and Japanese Shorthorn. There are several European breeds that have contributed to the Japanese Black. Marbling in beef is moderately to highly heritable, averaging around 45%.
In preparation of Japan visit I hungon to your Tubes, to build confidence in this strange land. Superb.Having now visisted I thank you (andrest gang), infact was surprisedat how International - the Cities were. Had grand time , three weeks and should have gone IN COUNTRY to get real vibe
#faxmachine Salutations Wagyu connoisseur Chris and Poop Street Pete! I recently just got back from my first trip to Japan and it was the time of my life. I had been wanting to visit since I was a child when my grandfather would tell me stories of his Navy days when he was stationed there. Because of the Abroad in Japan channel, I opted to go to Yufu/Beppu area to enjoy an onsen(I too a huge fan of soaking in hot water). The stay was great, accommodation was stupendous, people were ridiculously friendly, and there is nothing like an onsen during a crisp fall morning. However, as the day went along, it was much hotter than I had expected. I tend to sweat a lot and was walking a lot during the trip to get exercise and enjoy the countryside. My dilemma came when I realized that, much like South Korea( where I currently reside), it is near to impossible to find deodorant in Japan! How do you, and other foreigners deal with this dilemma. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and plan on going back as soon as possible, but in the back of my mind I was a bit conscious about being the stereotype stinky foreigner.
I just watched your Mt. Fuji video with Natsuki and wanted to ask how much food/Energy jelly/granola bars and drinks did you have prepare for the hike? Loved the video and congrats on completing it!
whats funny is i saw a video on American wagyu and the reason we have it is apparently some of japan let us have their cows till they stopped exports. so you technically can get true wagyu if you follow the ones that were still bred here from the japanese cows. however, the video also pointed out that a lot of the stuff sold the lineage is only like 25% or less .
#faxmachine Hey Cuckoo Chris and Puffin Pete, I'm a massive fan and have listened avidly for a long time. I've been to Japan a few times as I'm from Australia it makes a great destination without the huge timezone issue and jet lag. But my partner has never been before, and we're thinking of going next year. So please open up those Studio tours Chris! How do you go with taking new people to places that you've visited a bunch of times? Do you find that those spots change enough each time you go or you do sod the other person and pick new places for yourself to go and miss out on the 'iconic' spots coz they're done and the same? Just considering our itinerary, look forward to hearing your thoughts and influencing our trip! Best, Claire
Hey Chris, you mentioned you're interested in foreigners making a life in Japan doing something obscure. This Italian guy and his Japanese wife run a Ramen shop that has an Italian twist. Ichihachi-tei" in Nishi-Tokyo City, Tokyo.
I think Chris' taste in music is similar to mine -- I would love to see some playlists or the like! The artists he's mentioned over time -- Aphex Twin, Depeche Mode, Pendulum -- it's very 90s teen, and I mean that as a compliment.
love the Aphex Twin, he's so talented, was just listening to Avril 14 which was recorded using a disklavier. The brits have great electronic ,synth musicians, You've got great taste in music Chris, every time u mention some artist or song i'm like yeah
#faxmachine G'day Chris and Pete! Long time viewer and recent listener of the podcast. Gotta say you guys have great chemistry and always give me a bit of a chuckle with your antics. Also thankyou for adding more great metal/Rock bars to check out when I go back over. I would like to add Metal Justice Bar in Ropongi, one of the very few bars there that won't scalp you and have a headbangin' good time! My question: Chris do you think you'll cover any of the more "traditional" Sports in Japan in the future? (Eg sumo, kendo, karate) Cheers guys!
I had the same reaction xD Felt a bit creeped out at seeing such a ominous shadow behind Chris 😅 But yes, there is a shop window behind Chris, so someone was walking behind the Cameraˆˆ Chris also looks a bit to the left and presumably at that person for an instant.
It's interesting that I've only started looking at the content about tiny apartments in Japan this year maybe just in the last couple of months. And yet, you guys are talking about how the public bathing is going away but some of those tiny Apartments don't have any bathing capabilities other than nearby public bathing options. Oh there you go now he's talking about I think the exact video I was talking about
While I was traveling in Japan I booked a Hotel with a special Discount for People living in Japan by accident and they checked my Passport because as they told me the discount was payed by the government…..
I went into Aldi the other day and they had a whole range of "wagyu" products. But also underneath, they were proudly stating that it was 100% British beef, which is so contradictory it just makes zero sense
It's even more ironic considering that wagyuu 和牛 literally translates to "japanese beef". 和 means Japanese (or rather it's one of its meanings) and 牛 means cow. So the product is labeled with "Japanese beef 100% British beef" 😅
Public bath houses are cultural and community facilities. It’s like a bathroom with a chat room. Every time I visit Tokyo I try to get to the public bath at least a few times.
Great podcast! But why are they still using 50fps? I thought that old PAL broadcast standard has been phased out since the release of HD (PS3 comes to mind in 2006). Stick to 30, 60 or more please thanks
Dear considerate Chris and patient Pete, Yesssssss! 🎉Yessssss! Yes, yes , yes, fucking yes! 🎊Finally, a mention of the majestic bear on the Abroad in Japan Podcast. You have fulfilled my life's greatest wish. I am ever so grateful to our benevolent lord Broad and solemn knight, Sir Donaldson. My journey ends here, friends. I will meet you in the comments section of the next video. Until then, farewell and tata! Yours sincerely, Sayantan.
Joey the anime man might know how the record sorting system works there. It sounds daunting, to say the least. Let us know if you ever discover how it's supposed to work.
The issue with Waygu: The problem is that Waygu is a specific breed. In Japan it is a protected term and is tracked extensively. For a given cut of meat in Japan, you can find out exactly which farm, which cow in the farm, and the parents of said cow as this is all tracked. However before they protected them, Japan allowed some cows and bulls to be exported. This allowed them to be crossbred. In America for example, they were crossbred with Black Angus. As they are a breed, this allowed those offspring to be marketed as both "Waygu" and as "Black Angus" depending on the market. Same issue in other countries. None of the Waygu is 100% as those are breeding stock. The real kicker is that each country has different rules (if any) for what percent of the genetic line needs to be ___ before they can call it ___. In some places it can be a shocking low amount, at which point it really makes no difference in taste.
I worked in book off for 1.5 years and we had depending on which cathegorie english and Japanese alphabet order.. but in most cases the more common products we plased according to Japanese あいうえお かきくけこ etc system. and them you search for labels usually from left to right so in our case we had arashi at the very right side and x japan pretty close by hope I could help you. 参考になったら、頗る嬉しいです
Here in spain we have a lot of restaurant selling expensive burgers and meat cuts claiming its wagyu and in reality most of the times is mix of australian wagyu with angus. A lot of them even claim that its kobe wagyu when they do not appear in the official list. Sadly it has become a lot pupular when not only is fake but its worse than galicia and asturias meat
I've seen westerners with youtube channels that live out in the japanese countryside, engaging in agriculture and animal husbandry... I even saw one guy fix up an old degraded building to.
I’ve had A5 Wagyu before in Sushi Marvel in Manchester, served as Nigiri, and it has a pretty distinct flavour to it. It must have been the real deal because it cost up to £18 for two pieces, unlike some supermarket sold “Wagyu” burgers which were alright but weren’t much different from other burgers I’ve had not claiming to be as such (I don’t recall the exact price). It’s more like a marketing buzzword which tricks people into assuming a higher quality product really, so I recommend only going into speciality places outside of Japan to experience the real deal if you’re unable to go into the country itself rather than fall for devious tactics.
#FaxMachine Hello Caster Chris and Presenter Pete. I found the Natsuki pachinko video when I was in highschool but recently found the main channel again without realizing it and I've been binging over the past month. It's like getting a job with the stranger you used to see at a restaurant and I'm enjoying it. I wanted to know: do you two recommend any times to get on the trains in Tokyo? I've heard that trains can get packed like sardines and I'm not exactly Japanese sized. Plus if I need to carry luggage and the like onto a train I don't want to be a bother. My trip to Japan likely isn't for another year and a half but I wish I could come now. Hopefully I can run into you and your friends on the trip after I soak in the Persona 5 locations I'm desperate to see. Sorry for the ramble fellas, keep up the amazing work.
The ordering in shops varies depending on what you're looking at... confusing right? For Games - alot of second hand shops will divide them by categories and then japanese alphabetical order. For Manga - it s usually sorted by Publisher as well.... so good luck if you don't know what company published your book...
#faxmachine Heyhey my favorite podcast duo! Just wanna say I've been really enjoing listening for the last few years! I've been planning a trip to Tokyo and Kyoto together with my partner. She's visited before with her family, but it'll be my first visit to Japan. We're visiting in March and will be staying for two and a half weeks. When we were looking for hotels we stumbled upon this odd pattern. I know Japan full of weird stuff, so I probably shouldn't be suprised, but why do so many hotels put the toilet in what seems to be a tiny little closed with a sliding door? Found this really funny. Also, bonus question: What is the temperature and weather typically like in March? Thanks a lot for the advice, and 10 bonus points to the one that answered the bonus question ;) Øyvind from Norway
There are all sorts of grades of wagu. You carnt farm the highest grades wagu outside of japan, A5 and maybe A4 can only be sourced from japan . So all the wagu farmed outside of japan like NZ and Aussie is good but its not amazing. The club I worked in japan use to serve Kobe beef, that is truly something to get excited about.
There was a good one on Akiya living that I watched on UA-cam : Thatched Living: A Nostalgic Future - NHK WORLD-JAPAN - they are rice farmers... it's worth a watch if Sam wants to whet his whistle on 'the dream'... eminently doable... it's part of a series... there is actually like a German couple that lives in this or a similar community that did a resto mod on an Akiya to make it like, how they wanted... NHK does a bunch of neat series... just my opinion.
MatPat’s Food Theory has a video on this. If I remember correctly they cows used for wagu outside of Japan are descendent from the Japanese variant and bred with other cows.
I was just at a great Sentō not far from Ueno Station but the water was so hot. They have Shogun Burger next to my house but I guess I’m the only person who prefers the umami of a regular Aberdeen Angus steak. Wagyu just tastes greasy to me.
Chef Fun Fact about Wagyu : it's just the offcuts/fat from the trimmings of the steaks that they most likely sell as well, then mark it up in price because, fancy wagyu. Massive Turn over, a little lie = profit off potential super expensive waste.
The question of how Japanese 'alphabetize' really piqued my curiosity so I went looking for the answer and found this: "There is no "alphabetical" order as Kanji are not an alphabet. If we talk about name lists they are ordered based on how the name is read and the Kana chart starting at あ、い、う、え、お、か、き... This is also how books or CDs are structured in stores." I make no claim as to the veracity of this information but it makes sense to me.
The problem with Wagyu started once Wagyu cattle got exported abroad what Wagyu is not diluted. In Japan for a cattle to be considers Wagyu it has to be 100% genetically Wagyu and then it is given its rating. In the US though the cattle does not need to 100% Wagyu in its heritage and is often cross breed with Angus cattle. Adding to the problem there isn't much oversight of what can be advertised as Wagyu. I find that anything sold as just Wagyu is not worth the premium and comes nowhere close an actual A5 Wagyu experience.
I was at a restaurant in Bristol and they had ‘Wagyu burgers’ for like £10, when I question it, I was told it’s UK graded Wagyu beef burgers. 🤦🏻♂️I was just like ‘brahhh, no.’
I can attest to vpns helping you save money on trips, worked for me when traveling to UK ESPECIALLY when renting a car. So YES definitely use that trick 🎉
#faxmachine Nippleious Pete and Good-Fat Chris, thanks for two days a week I am looking forward to ;-) As you were talking about Wagyu Beef… I have been to Japan 4 times so far and was always confused why Japanese, that mostly are extremely polity and call everything おいしい, tend to give most restaurants pretty bad reviews with 3,5 of 5 being best you often see on google or Apple Maps, even Trip Advisor. During my last trip to Osaka, Fukuoka and Kagoshima I hardly found any restaurant with a rating close to 4. Is this the payback of polite people or is there a secret matrix I just can’t see so far? Or are Japanese generally using other sites to rate restaurants and only bloody tourists complain about ripp off Wagyu places and Izakayas that are no „proper“ restaurants? Curious to hear your thoughts.
#faxmachine Hello Daddy Donaldson and Baby Broad (how has no one gone for last names yet?) I'm now halfway through my three-month long trip across Japan and I've been having a whale of time. Got force fed Natto by some locals, met an actor from the brillant Japanese movie 'Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes' and visited the Shōwa-kan where the second Dr. Jelly advert was filmed. But I have two questions. - Where do I find shirts or other apparel with decoration English? - Is it actually true that going to big tourist spots, especially those with high cultural value (i.e. something like Kinkakuji or Kiyomizudera) are better avoided on weekends? Because the biggest groups I've encountered so far there were groups of students or school kids and surely they won't be there on weekends. Many thanks for all you guys create for us (fo' free!), it's helped me greatly when planning my trip. All the best from Switzerland (technically Kyoto right now), Nicolas
The Belgian Blue is a big intramuscular bad boy... but like typically people are calling Angus 'wagyu'... sometime Angus crossbred with Hertfordshire... But Belgian Blue is the big meaty deposits boy... you gotta check him out... I mean, isn't wagyu like an atypically small breed as well?
I was disappointed to hear the sento near Asakusa close down for good during the pandemic. That place had great vibes because they cater to tourists more than other places.
They get away with calling their products wagyu because they are made from one of the 4 breeds of Japanese cattle known as wagyu so are, in fact, wagyu. Much like Aberdeen Angus grown in France is still Aberdeen Angus...
The "wagyu Beef" companies are probably taking a note out of Mcdonalds book... In Canada they get away with saying their burgers are "100% Real Canadian Beef" legally because they own the patty company and the company's NAME is "100% Real Canadian Beef", which they conveniently dont tell the consumer... My old roommate used to be a marketing major, and the more I learnt about business practices, the more I lost faith in humanity :P .
Yeah i don't have money to buy a proper wagyu steak and went for a wagyu burger but there's no point to that is it, it was a delicious beefy burger no doubt but the point to wagyu is that layering of fat and meat, when you mince it all up you leave most of the fat on the grill
This is more about the organization of books in stores, but it is a, i, u, e, o (五十音) order, but at most stores, it would be the publisher of the book followed by author and finally title. This is the way it would be at Book-Off. Also at places like Book-Off, there are usually two sections for each publisher: a cheap section and a normal section.
Public Baths disappeared long time ago here in Germany. They where called "Volksbad" and provided showers or bathtubs to people who had no bath at home. Cities tried to keep everyone healthy by providing public baths. Nowadays with baths beeing standart in every appartment they are simply not needed any more. Might be similar in Japan. However its always sad to see tradition fading away.
I'm German and even I never heard about them. :D
I watched a gorgeous movie called "Yudo: The Way of the Bath" at a Japanese film festival recently. Massive recommendation. It's a heartwarming family film that touches on the fading public bath scene as well.
More praise for “Yudo: The Way of the Bath”, saw it last Saturday and it was brilliant. It put into words and emotions the way I felt using the baths/onsen at several hotels in Japan. Next time I hope to hope to explore Sento. Also nothing beets a cold beer or milk from a glass bottle after a bath
Pete- "Never trust a Canadian UA-camr because they are lying."
Sharla & Norm: 🤨
Its true
The harshest of betrayals come from the closest of people.
about the alphabetical order question - I asked my Japanese husband and he says that it’s organized by vowel. However, it’s organized by last name, whereas in the US things are organized by first name. From what I understand, Bob Dylan would be organized under “de” character, so you would go to “e” character/vowel section, then “de”. I hadn’t ever thought of this but it will definitely be helpful next time I’m shopping for books and records in Japan!
Not even that, they overwhelmingly use the gojuuon order. vowel-only AEIOU first, then the consonant-vowel pairs for K/G, S/Z, T/D, N, H/B/P, M, Y, R, W. So Dylan would be on the fourth series ie. T/D. Also, they represent the consonant-vowel series by the unvoiced -a kana, so Dylan would be under Ta/た.
Its always eye opening to see how other cultures do everyday things. This organization method sounds like a nightmare to foreigners.
@@skunkwerkz777 well its more like how most of the east asian languages are more tonal. So organizing things according to how they sound and grouping similar sounding things will be more normal to them vs how the west use an relatively simple alphabet to organize things. The same thing applies to Chinese organization.
Had the full public bath experience in 2007, showing my junk in an onsen for locals to see was weird for about 10 minutes then realsing no one cares is kind of liberating in a very strange way.
I went to one in 2017 and 2018 near Asakusa, and it never bother me to be naked around... I just wanted to experience what is like to be a Japanese, like did also when I went to temples and even went to the top of mount Fuji (one thing is sure: IT WAS COLD UP THERE!!!🥶🥶🥶🥶)
it's just dick and balls. everybody has pair
Kind of experience is nothing new for anyone who went to public schools and played sports.
Just learn to not care
21:00 I found the secret to getting up early, is going to bed early. Sometimes that takes a little getting used to in itself. But usually, that’s the best way to train your body to get up early. I haven’t used an alarm clock in years. And I usually get up anywhere between 5 o’clock and 630. Depending on the time of the year honestly, I’m almost set my body to the sunrise or right before it. Good luck. honestly, the early morning hours I cherish so much, because the world is so quiet it’s the best time, I don’t get too productive until after eight or 9 o’clock. But I like to get up and like you said that’s the time to meditate. Maybe do some stretching. Drink coffee, Take your walk. I like to ride my bike at the beach some days, I'm in Florida ,It’s kind of your time. Just don’t read Emails or anything stressful. That can wait till after 9 o’clock.
I remember going to a sento as a child visiting my grandmother. The house had no bath and a no flush toilet that grossed me out. 😂 She also had a water pump which was fascinating to me. Sentos was fun especially the cold milk we drank after the bath. All good memories as we all walked to the sento.
Was not expecting mentions of Aphex Twin here! :D Good choice!
I remember buying a DVD with all of Chris Cunningham's work on it in the early 2000s... It had a short film called "Rubber Johnny" and I've never been more freaked out by a piece of media in my life.The music videos he did for Bjork are amazing,
I was just going to comment about Rubber Johnny. Holy crap, that gave me many sleepless nights.
My Japanese husband owned a sento when we first met until it shut down during covid. He was actually the head of the Aichi sento association for a while 😂 Now it just functions as a bath for the residents of one of his care homes, but it was reasonably popular before covid. Such a shame.
In New Zealand our hotsprings are disappearing too, sometimes due to volcanic activity, usually financial mismanagement. It's sad... there were some absolutely stunning ones in the past. Now I can only think of three main ones.
25:42 I'd like to think I do something relatively obscure here in Japan as I'm a Ferrari technician. You can see me at Suzuka, Fuji Speedway, etc on raceday.
Pete: “watch out for bears in winter in Hokkaido”
Yep, those ferocious sleeping bears
It's a shame about the sento and onsen decline. I'd much rather visit a nice bath where the water's warm and (mostly) clean without ME having to do all the standing around waiting for the water to get warm, then the tub to fill, and then after the relaxing soak having to eventually drain and clean the tub.
I think the real reason is the general problem with the world culture... everyone is too busy to pause for an hour from time to time. It's not that we're busy accomplishing things, but we've made everything around us into chores and jobs, and feel compelled to always be working on something with a progress bar.
Thank you for answering my Question! Love the podcast (:
The way that companies get away with selling 'Wagu' beef is that it doesn't have to be 💯 Wagu. If the bull is only half Wagu, they can still sell it as Wagu. It's unfortunate 🤔
Welcome to "Unregulated Business" here in the U.S.. I'm a dirty Socialist better known as a "Welfare Capitalist" !
It also doesn’t have to be raised in Japan. You can have cows with wagyu genetics in Australia or US. The marbling results are completely different from a Miyazaki.
I've never seen beef like I did in Japan, it's very different
Wagyu*
“Wagyu burger” is never full wagyu. There’re videos showing that wagyu beef doesn’t make good burger and you can just mince any meat with good amount of fat to get the same effect.
Aphex Twin referenced, hell yeah!
Thanks for the podcast :) was great to take my mind of things for a bit
I regularly watch your podcast but have yet to make any comments in between anxiously awaiting your next Abroad in Japan video. But this podcast made me laugh a couple of times today. Your comments about the Aphex Twin, Come to Daddy music video are spot on! My younger brother and I have decided it's one of the most disturbing music videos ever made! And your comment about Wagyu beef is also dead on! And then there is the Bears. My wife and I have a summer house up in Nasu. I have to contend with Bears, Monkeys, and Asian giant hornets. My only defense is a baseball bat and harsh language... The other thing that got me laughing was your schedule, including the walking part! It is almost identical to my own! LOL anyways, guys, thanks for making me laugh today. I've also lived here for about ten years and unfortunately still can't speak Japanese!
The ultra long cut of chris fidgeting while pete was talking at 7:07 killed me lmao
I've been trying to find certain thin books at Mandarake before with middling success... seemed to be the standard order, gojuon or whatever it's called, but the tough part was to find the index from the kanji in the author's name (or rather, finding a book by an author whose artstyle I recognized and remembered the name of) and follow it to the author I wanted to find, mainly because they don't even put dividers anywhere... even worse when it's just ordered by original work, though, and you have a whole shelf to comb through for your artist of interest.
The most confusing thing is there's multiple sections with different sorting methods depending on the store. There is a new arrival unsorted section, original works divided by genres, popular doujin circles getting their own divider, and also divided by series the works are based on.
@@ZonChau Yeah, in the end it just boils down to "just bring a ton of time and comb through the whole fucking shelf you dumb weeaboo".
I like how he chops his podcast into a reasonable length. I hate having to sift through 4 hours of chatter just to get to something interesting.
If only they'd get to the advertised subject instead of spending all that time doing the banter. It's probably one of the reasons why this channel only has about 20% of the subscribers of the old one. I want to learn about Japan, not David Beckham.
@@bobmetcalfe9640 most subscribers use a podcast app to listen to the podcast. As for the majority it has been a audio only podcast.
So numbers are a bit harder to collect as they can use about 10.000 aps to do so.
Also for me the banter is the appeal. As I have been following this podcast from the beginning. It has always been part of the show.
@@bobmetcalfe9640 If you want the advertised subject alone, just read it somewhere. Who the hell listens to podcasts but hates the banter of the hosts? It's basically the whole point.
1. Depends how funny it is.
2. Depends what it's about.
@@MyVanir Because it's on the front page of UA-cam. "No, I've never wondered why the bath houses are closing. Let's find out..... Now that that segment is finished, I no longer care"
Has anyone else noticed the reflection of a person walking in the glass in the background from 21:24 to 21:30? I like to think it is a ghost or something even scarier, like Ryotaro.
#faxmachine Hi Cleansed Chris and Pristine Pete, when I was younger I went to Japan on a 6 week school exchange. I was staying in a home stay in Kyoto not far from the train station. At the time i was really into running (as I am sure you are too) and thought it would be a good idea to run up to Nijo Castle and then on to the Imperial Palace to check them out. All up it should have taken me about 80 minutes but on my way back I got a bit lost. This was before smartphones and I had no map with me so asked an old man directions on how to get back to the train station as I knew how to get home from there. He sent me in the opposite direction and I ended up running over 2 hours! When i finally got home I told my host family (who didn't seem that worried i was gone for so long) and they said Japanese old men are notorious for playing pranks so it turns out I just got punked by an old man. Have you had any similar situations where you have been pranked by the elderly? Also on that run i saw a guy on a motorbike get t-boned at an intersection. The other car just drove off and everyone just looked at him while he wheeled his bike to the side of the road.
Great story. Somewhat makes me look forward to getting old even though I wouldn't want to mess with people like that.
Wagyu in Japan comes from four breeds: Japanese Black, Japanese Brown, Japanese Polled and Japanese Shorthorn. There are several European breeds that have contributed to the Japanese Black. Marbling in beef is moderately to highly heritable, averaging around 45%.
In preparation of Japan visit I hungon to your Tubes, to build confidence in this strange land. Superb.Having now visisted I thank you (andrest gang), infact was surprisedat how International - the Cities were. Had grand time , three weeks and should have gone IN COUNTRY to get real vibe
The NHK series on random trains, is pretty lush. I used to watch it on Saturdays... just to chill. It's just, chill.
#faxmachine Salutations Wagyu connoisseur Chris and Poop Street Pete! I recently just got back from my first trip to Japan and it was the time of my life. I had been wanting to visit since I was a child when my grandfather would tell me stories of his Navy days when he was stationed there. Because of the Abroad in Japan channel, I opted to go to Yufu/Beppu area to enjoy an onsen(I too a huge fan of soaking in hot water). The stay was great, accommodation was stupendous, people were ridiculously friendly, and there is nothing like an onsen during a crisp fall morning. However, as the day went along, it was much hotter than I had expected. I tend to sweat a lot and was walking a lot during the trip to get exercise and enjoy the countryside. My dilemma came when I realized that, much like South Korea( where I currently reside), it is near to impossible to find deodorant in Japan! How do you, and other foreigners deal with this dilemma. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and plan on going back as soon as possible, but in the back of my mind I was a bit conscious about being the stereotype stinky foreigner.
I just watched your Mt. Fuji video with Natsuki and wanted to ask how much food/Energy jelly/granola bars and drinks did you have prepare for the hike? Loved the video and congrats on completing it!
whats funny is i saw a video on American wagyu and the reason we have it is apparently some of japan let us have their cows till they stopped exports. so you technically can get true wagyu if you follow the ones that were still bred here from the japanese cows. however, the video also pointed out that a lot of the stuff sold the lineage is only like 25% or less .
Mono unsaturated fat is basically the same as vegetable fat so why not just cook a regular steak in oil?
#faxmachine Hey Cuckoo Chris and Puffin Pete, I'm a massive fan and have listened avidly for a long time. I've been to Japan a few times as I'm from Australia it makes a great destination without the huge timezone issue and jet lag. But my partner has never been before, and we're thinking of going next year. So please open up those Studio tours Chris! How do you go with taking new people to places that you've visited a bunch of times? Do you find that those spots change enough each time you go or you do sod the other person and pick new places for yourself to go and miss out on the 'iconic' spots coz they're done and the same? Just considering our itinerary, look forward to hearing your thoughts and influencing our trip! Best, Claire
Hey Chris, you mentioned you're interested in foreigners making a life in Japan doing something obscure. This Italian guy and his Japanese wife run a Ramen shop that has an Italian twist. Ichihachi-tei" in Nishi-Tokyo City, Tokyo.
Oooo Chris looks lovely. Healthyer and livelyer, and hopefully happyer. Gratz!
I think Chris' taste in music is similar to mine -- I would love to see some playlists or the like! The artists he's mentioned over time -- Aphex Twin, Depeche Mode, Pendulum -- it's very 90s teen, and I mean that as a compliment.
love the Aphex Twin, he's so talented, was just listening to Avril 14 which was recorded using a disklavier. The brits have great electronic ,synth musicians, You've got great taste in music Chris, every time u mention some artist or song i'm like yeah
#faxmachine
G'day Chris and Pete! Long time viewer and recent listener of the podcast. Gotta say you guys have great chemistry and always give me a bit of a chuckle with your antics.
Also thankyou for adding more great metal/Rock bars to check out when I go back over. I would like to add Metal Justice Bar in Ropongi, one of the very few bars there that won't scalp you and have a headbangin' good time!
My question: Chris do you think you'll cover any of the more "traditional" Sports in Japan in the future? (Eg sumo, kendo, karate)
Cheers guys!
Is there a window behind him? Am I crazy for seeing a person walk behind him at about 25:20? Surely that’s a window…
I had the same reaction xD Felt a bit creeped out at seeing such a ominous shadow behind Chris 😅
But yes, there is a shop window behind Chris, so someone was walking behind the Cameraˆˆ Chris also looks a bit to the left and presumably at that person for an instant.
It's interesting that I've only started looking at the content about tiny apartments in Japan this year maybe just in the last couple of months. And yet, you guys are talking about how the public bathing is going away but some of those tiny Apartments don't have any bathing capabilities other than nearby public bathing options.
Oh there you go now he's talking about I think the exact video I was talking about
While I was traveling in Japan I booked a Hotel with a special Discount for People living in Japan by accident and they checked my Passport because as they told me the discount was payed by the government…..
I went into Aldi the other day and they had a whole range of "wagyu" products. But also underneath, they were proudly stating that it was 100% British beef, which is so contradictory it just makes zero sense
It's even more ironic considering that wagyuu 和牛 literally translates to "japanese beef". 和 means Japanese (or rather it's one of its meanings) and 牛 means cow. So the product is labeled with "Japanese beef 100% British beef" 😅
There arew wagyu herds in the UK lol.
和 was the original character for Japan.@@Blex_040
Public bath houses are cultural and community facilities. It’s like a bathroom with a chat room.
Every time I visit Tokyo I try to get to the public bath at least a few times.
Great podcast! But why are they still using 50fps? I thought that old PAL broadcast standard has been phased out since the release of HD (PS3 comes to mind in 2006). Stick to 30, 60 or more please thanks
Dear considerate Chris and patient Pete,
Yesssssss! 🎉Yessssss! Yes, yes , yes, fucking yes! 🎊Finally, a mention of the majestic bear on the Abroad in Japan Podcast. You have fulfilled my life's greatest wish. I am ever so grateful to our benevolent lord Broad and solemn knight, Sir Donaldson. My journey ends here, friends. I will meet you in the comments section of the next video. Until then, farewell and tata!
Yours sincerely,
Sayantan.
Chris: "scaring bears ...and children."
Me: "Of course the children, always, stay out of my corn!"
Joey the anime man might know how the record sorting system works there. It sounds daunting, to say the least. Let us know if you ever discover how it's supposed to work.
Wow Chris also listens to Aphex Twin! He's been my favorite for a long time. Cool to see.
Bahahahaha my first ad was a McDonald's chicken nugget ad and I'm dying 🤣🤣🤣
The issue with Waygu: The problem is that Waygu is a specific breed.
In Japan it is a protected term and is tracked extensively. For a given cut of meat in Japan, you can find out exactly which farm, which cow in the farm, and the parents of said cow as this is all tracked. However before they protected them, Japan allowed some cows and bulls to be exported.
This allowed them to be crossbred. In America for example, they were crossbred with Black Angus. As they are a breed, this allowed those offspring to be marketed as both "Waygu" and as "Black Angus" depending on the market. Same issue in other countries. None of the Waygu is 100% as those are breeding stock.
The real kicker is that each country has different rules (if any) for what percent of the genetic line needs to be ___ before they can call it ___. In some places it can be a shocking low amount, at which point it really makes no difference in taste.
Chris, you have a ghost in your studio at @25:22 ! 😱
I worked in book off for 1.5 years and we had depending on which cathegorie english and Japanese alphabet order.. but in most cases the more common products we plased according to Japanese あいうえお かきくけこ etc system.
and them you search for labels usually from left to right so in our case we had arashi at the very right side and x japan pretty close by
hope I could help you.
参考になったら、頗る嬉しいです
Tell Pete to put a sticker on the stain, out of sight out of mind lolol
Glad to hear Cris is a fan of my favorite band Apex Twins, great taste.
Here in spain we have a lot of restaurant selling expensive burgers and meat cuts claiming its wagyu and in reality most of the times is mix of australian wagyu with angus.
A lot of them even claim that its kobe wagyu when they do not appear in the official list.
Sadly it has become a lot pupular when not only is fake but its worse than galicia and asturias meat
I've seen westerners with youtube channels that live out in the japanese countryside, engaging in agriculture and animal husbandry... I even saw one guy fix up an old degraded building to.
I’ve had A5 Wagyu before in Sushi Marvel in Manchester, served as Nigiri, and it has a pretty distinct flavour to it. It must have been the real deal because it cost up to £18 for two pieces, unlike some supermarket sold “Wagyu” burgers which were alright but weren’t much different from other burgers I’ve had not claiming to be as such (I don’t recall the exact price). It’s more like a marketing buzzword which tricks people into assuming a higher quality product really, so I recommend only going into speciality places outside of Japan to experience the real deal if you’re unable to go into the country itself rather than fall for devious tactics.
#FaxMachine
Hello Caster Chris and Presenter Pete. I found the Natsuki pachinko video when I was in highschool but recently found the main channel again without realizing it and I've been binging over the past month. It's like getting a job with the stranger you used to see at a restaurant and I'm enjoying it.
I wanted to know: do you two recommend any times to get on the trains in Tokyo? I've heard that trains can get packed like sardines and I'm not exactly Japanese sized. Plus if I need to carry luggage and the like onto a train I don't want to be a bother.
My trip to Japan likely isn't for another year and a half but I wish I could come now. Hopefully I can run into you and your friends on the trip after I soak in the Persona 5 locations I'm desperate to see.
Sorry for the ramble fellas, keep up the amazing work.
The ordering in shops varies depending on what you're looking at... confusing right?
For Games - alot of second hand shops will divide them by categories and then japanese alphabetical order.
For Manga - it s usually sorted by Publisher as well.... so good luck if you don't know what company published your book...
I feel better about not being able to figure out Tower Records org system now. It's good to know it wasn't just me.
#faxmachine Heyhey my favorite podcast duo! Just wanna say I've been really enjoing listening for the last few years!
I've been planning a trip to Tokyo and Kyoto together with my partner. She's visited before with her family, but it'll be my first visit to Japan. We're visiting in March and will be staying for two and a half weeks. When we were looking for hotels we stumbled upon this odd pattern. I know Japan full of weird stuff, so I probably shouldn't be suprised, but why do so many hotels put the toilet in what seems to be a tiny little closed with a sliding door? Found this really funny.
Also, bonus question: What is the temperature and weather typically like in March?
Thanks a lot for the advice, and 10 bonus points to the one that answered the bonus question ;)
Øyvind from Norway
There are all sorts of grades of wagu. You carnt farm the highest grades wagu outside of japan, A5 and maybe A4 can only be sourced from japan . So all the wagu farmed outside of japan like NZ and Aussie is good but its not amazing. The club I worked in japan use to serve Kobe beef, that is truly something to get excited about.
that outro music is way to loud, had to rush to turn the volume down lol
I am in Japan and learning from your podcasts
20:59 ...this is the way 🙏
There was a good one on Akiya living that I watched on UA-cam : Thatched Living: A Nostalgic Future - NHK WORLD-JAPAN - they are rice farmers... it's worth a watch if Sam wants to whet his whistle on 'the dream'... eminently doable... it's part of a series... there is actually like a German couple that lives in this or a similar community that did a resto mod on an Akiya to make it like, how they wanted... NHK does a bunch of neat series... just my opinion.
Any chance you "duo affables" could increase the volume next time? Without headphones I can't make out some of your comments.
MatPat’s Food Theory has a video on this. If I remember correctly they cows used for wagu outside of Japan are descendent from the Japanese variant and bred with other cows.
ua-cam.com/video/FoFPjI1qLz0/v-deo.htmlsi=0o1MwjIpwXgzDGzy
Allllllrrrriiiiigggghhhhhhttttt Chris n Pete !
I was just at a great Sentō not far from Ueno Station but the water was so hot. They have Shogun Burger next to my house but I guess I’m the only person who prefers the umami of a regular Aberdeen Angus steak. Wagyu just tastes greasy to me.
Chef Fun Fact about Wagyu : it's just the offcuts/fat from the trimmings of the steaks that they most likely sell as well, then mark it up in price because, fancy wagyu. Massive Turn over, a little lie = profit off potential super expensive waste.
The minced wagyu burger Chris was talking about**
Can we please get the intro song back? Cheers!
09:00 I think Los Afables would be a fine name!
The question of how Japanese 'alphabetize' really piqued my curiosity so I went looking for the answer and found this: "There is no "alphabetical" order as Kanji are not an alphabet. If we talk about name lists they are ordered based on how the name is read and the Kana chart starting at あ、い、う、え、お、か、き... This is also how books or CDs are structured in stores." I make no claim as to the veracity of this information but it makes sense to me.
The problem with Wagyu started once Wagyu cattle got exported abroad what Wagyu is not diluted. In Japan for a cattle to be considers Wagyu it has to be 100% genetically Wagyu and then it is given its rating.
In the US though the cattle does not need to 100% Wagyu in its heritage and is often cross breed with Angus cattle. Adding to the problem there isn't much oversight of what can be advertised as Wagyu.
I find that anything sold as just Wagyu is not worth the premium and comes nowhere close an actual A5 Wagyu experience.
I bought a SecretLabs chair a few years ago. Very overpriced and low quality. The covering on both my armrests were ripping within two years.
note... bears sleep through the winter s should not be any trouble in Hokkaido until the spring!
best way to wake up in the morning
Affable as always 👏
Well jokes on you, look at this WAGU hot dog I picked up at the Circle K!
Didn’t know the two bathhouses were different.
I was at a restaurant in Bristol and they had ‘Wagyu burgers’ for like £10, when I question it, I was told it’s UK graded Wagyu beef burgers. 🤦🏻♂️I was just like ‘brahhh, no.’
I can attest to vpns helping you save money on trips, worked for me when traveling to UK ESPECIALLY when renting a car. So YES definitely use that trick 🎉
Secret labs chair ey Pete 👀👌
Don't Japanese bears hibernate?
Edit: Just checked, they do, from November to March.
#faxmachine Nippleious Pete and Good-Fat Chris, thanks for two days a week I am looking forward to ;-) As you were talking about Wagyu Beef… I have been to Japan 4 times so far and was always confused why Japanese, that mostly are extremely polity and call everything おいしい, tend to give most restaurants pretty bad reviews with 3,5 of 5 being best you often see on google or Apple Maps, even Trip Advisor. During my last trip to Osaka, Fukuoka and Kagoshima I hardly found any restaurant with a rating close to 4. Is this the payback of polite people or is there a secret matrix I just can’t see so far? Or are Japanese generally using other sites to rate restaurants and only bloody tourists complain about ripp off Wagyu places and Izakayas that are no „proper“ restaurants? Curious to hear your thoughts.
I was just thinking this the other day, everything is "wagyu" now
#faxmachine Hello Daddy Donaldson and Baby Broad (how has no one gone for last names yet?)
I'm now halfway through my three-month long trip across Japan and I've been having a whale of time. Got force fed Natto by some locals, met an actor from the brillant Japanese movie 'Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes' and visited the Shōwa-kan where the second Dr. Jelly advert was filmed.
But I have two questions.
- Where do I find shirts or other apparel with decoration English?
- Is it actually true that going to big tourist spots, especially those with high cultural value (i.e. something like Kinkakuji or Kiyomizudera) are better avoided on weekends? Because the biggest groups I've encountered so far there were groups of students or school kids and surely they won't be there on weekends.
Many thanks for all you guys create for us (fo' free!), it's helped me greatly when planning my trip.
All the best from Switzerland (technically Kyoto right now), Nicolas
Same in America. Any piece of fatty beef is now called "wagyu."
The Belgian Blue is a big intramuscular bad boy... but like typically people are calling Angus 'wagyu'... sometime Angus crossbred with Hertfordshire... But Belgian Blue is the big meaty deposits boy... you gotta check him out... I mean, isn't wagyu like an atypically small breed as well?
I wanted to go to a bath house when i went to japan but unfortunately i have tatoos
Oooo! Let's listen to 'Windowlicker'!
I was disappointed to hear the sento near Asakusa close down for good during the pandemic. That place had great vibes because they cater to tourists more than other places.
What’s up with the editing this episode? No fancy camera angle switching?
They get away with calling their products wagyu because they are made from one of the 4 breeds of Japanese cattle known as wagyu so are, in fact, wagyu. Much like Aberdeen Angus grown in France is still Aberdeen Angus...
The "wagyu Beef" companies are probably taking a note out of Mcdonalds book... In Canada they get away with saying their burgers are "100% Real Canadian Beef" legally because they own the patty company and the company's NAME is "100% Real Canadian Beef", which they conveniently dont tell the consumer... My old roommate used to be a marketing major, and the more I learnt about business practices, the more I lost faith in humanity :P .
Standing at the bottom of asso looking up the crevasse 😮
Petition to have the dodgy wolf randomly appear in all future videos.
Chris is in the pockets of Big Wagyu. lol
Yeah i don't have money to buy a proper wagyu steak and went for a wagyu burger but there's no point to that is it, it was a delicious beefy burger no doubt but the point to wagyu is that layering of fat and meat, when you mince it all up you leave most of the fat on the grill
APHEX TWIN MENTIONED?? WTF IS A NORMAL MUSIC VIDEO ‼️⁉️⁉️🗣️🗣️
that shit threw me off 😭 i did not expect chris to listen to peak music
This is more about the organization of books in stores, but it is a, i, u, e, o (五十音) order, but at most stores, it would be the publisher of the book followed by author and finally title. This is the way it would be at Book-Off. Also at places like Book-Off, there are usually two sections for each publisher: a cheap section and a normal section.